Top/Base Coats -Butter London - Hardwear PD Quick Topcoat
hansa4 11/7/2012 9:18:00 PM
I purchased this because my Butter London polishes were chipping like crazy and I had read that they would last longer with the BL base and top coat. I do think that is true, but this top coat does not work well for my other polishes at all. My nails look dull and in no way does it provide the ultra glossy finish the bottle touts. It does seem to dry and set my nail polish pretty well, which is quite nice. Overall, I'm going to keep searching.
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Styling Products -Giovanni - 2chic Brazilian Keratin & Argan Oil Flat Iron Styling Mist
hansa4 11/3/2012 4:41:00 PM
The greatest straightening spray I've ever found. I feel like it actually protects and nourishes my hair. My hair feels soft after I straighten it and is not as damaged as it used to be. I will never use anything else and the price (I think I bought it for $7-8 at Bed Bath & Beyond) is amazing.
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Shampoo -Paul Mitchell - Cleanse- Tea Tree Special Shampoo
hansa4 8/20/2012 2:45:00 PM
This product is amazing. First off, my hair is dry, I am dandruff prone, and curly but I love to straighten the life out of it. This is not a product that I would use if was washing my hair every day, my hair is too dry for that. My sister in law recommended this shampoo, and I am in love. It has kept the flakes away and I feel that it removes all the product build up I have in my hair from leave in conditioner, heat protectant, etc. I woke up the 3rd day after washing and my hair still looked amazing with no need for dry shampoo. My hair does feel a little too squeaky clean (even though I concentrate on my scalp) but this is easily remedied by a good conditioner. I had a bad experience with a Paul Mitchell product before, and wouldn't have tried this if it hadn't been recommended to me. The most important thing is to figure out what types of products work best for your hair type.
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Mascara -MAC - Extended Play - Endlessly Black
hansa4 6/29/2012 6:00:00 PM
So far I'm really liking this mascara. The teeny brush makes it so easy for me to get to the root of my lashes. A lot of the other reviews are saying that this is a tubing mascara, I've never used a tubing mascara and was unaware that this fell into that category. I tried to look for confirmation on the MAC site about this, but didn't find any. Regardless, I think this does a decent job of holding a curl on my straight Asian lashes. I am a huge fan of layering mascaras, and my current HG combo is Extended Play on my top and bottom lashes followed by a coat of Benefit's They're Real on my top lashes.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Galapagos single
hansa4 5/30/2012 4:39:00 PM
I really wanted to love this eye shadow. It is the first NARS eye shadow that I've purchased, and based on my experience it may end up being the only. Galapagos looks beautiful in the pan, but once applied on the lid it loses much of its intensity. It is difficult for me to get the gold glitter to show up and the brown falls flat as well. I have difficulty blending this color. I would return, but I am still trying to love it. I have been using it as an eyeliner, but even so the color payoff for me is still lacking.
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Polishes -Butter London - Trout Pout
hansa4 5/18/2012 5:21:00 PM
I love this color, it could be my favorite for spring/summer. Alas, this is the thickest, most streaky polish I have tried in a long time. It also chips after one day. I've read that to work properly one needs to purchase the butter london nail foundation and top coat. I am not wasting more of my money on bL products, I have 4 colors and while unique and beautiful, the application is complete garbage.
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Other -Unlisted Brand - Birchbox
hansa4 5/4/2012 4:46:00 PM
I received a year's subscription as a Christmas gift in December 2010. If the subscription wasn't prepaid (and a gift) I would have cancelled it. I don't expect to love every single thing I am sent, but I was consistently disappointed with the product selection and sample size. You are much better off saving your money, buying products at Sephora or a department store online and selecting the samples you are interested in at checkout. Also, one of the first months I received Birchbox, I found out via their website that they put together different kits based on your selected preferences (which is completely fine). I had selected skincare as the area I spend the most money in, but was often sent brands I had never heard of and didn't know where to repurchase aside from the Birchbox website. There was a rave on their facebook page because girls with different preference selections received a full sized eyeliner. Even after updating my preferences (hoping to be sent more make up selections) the samples remained disappointing. The thought of getting beauty products in the mail seemed exciting and entertaining, but the novelty quickly wears off.
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Brows -Laura Mercier - brow powder duo
hansa4 4/3/2012 8:30:00 AM
I have been focusing more on brow products lately. Although I have been a fan of Laura Mercier for several years, I was skeptical of a brow product that only came in 3 colors, the most suitable for me being called dark blonde. I am not a dark blonde, I have dark brown hair and eyes, but I gave this a try. I'm very glad I did, I actually use both colors in the duo and it is perfect. I highly recommend this product if you are looking for a new brow powder. The colors can be mixed according to your brow color and preference and the product is long-wearing.
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Powders -Smashbox - Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder
hansa4 4/3/2012 8:20:00 AM
I had received a sample of this product, and didn't think much of it at first until my sister asked me what I was using on my skin because it looked amazing. I prefer this over all of my other powders because it sets my foundation without making me look like a corpse. Mineral products tend to make me break out (I can't use BE or MAC MSFs) so I'm glad I didn't realize this was a mineral product until I looked it up to buy it - I wouldn't have tried it if I had known. This product does take a light hand and blending, but I find the finish to be amazing, and it gives a subtle glow. I haven't quite finished my first one, but I'm going to restock now because I have coupons for both Sephora and Ulta.
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Mascara -BeneFit Cosmetics - They're Real
hansa4 3/18/2012 9:43:00 AM
The first time I wore this, my husband asked if I was wearing a new mascara. (He doesn't comment on my makeup choices, ever). I feel as this should suffice, but I will go into more detail. I waited to buy this because I didn't want to buy into all of the hype, and felt that the $22 price tag is a little steep. I caved, and I'm glad I did. I typically have to use a waterproof formula if I want my lashes to hold a curl, but this mascara is the first non-waterproof I've found that doesn't kill the curl. The pigmentation is amazing - jet black, I will absolutely repurchase this!
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Eyeliner -Tarte - EmphasEYES waterproof clay eye shadow & liner
hansa4 3/18/2012 9:36:00 AM
This is sort of a comparison between this product, and my first love, Blacktrack. I first tried this when I bought a Tarte value pack from Sephora. I wasn't expecting anything special, but this product wowed me. For a little while, it completely replaced my MAC Blacktrack. I find that this stays on my lower lash line better than Blacktrack, but it still migrates by the end of the day. I'm not sure if I have exceptionally watery lids, but I have yet to find an eyeliner that stays put all day. It runs mostly in my outer corner, where my eyes are the most watery but stays put very nicely every where else, which is a huge improvement over Blacktrack. This product does dry out very quickly, but I found that this increases the staying power on my waterline. However, it makes lining my upper lash line quite difficult. The perfect combination for me is to use Blacktrack on my upper lash line and this product on my lower lash line. I've yet to find a better combination, and am quite pleased with the results.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -MAC - False Lashes
hansa4 12/25/2011 11:44:00 AM
Amazing. This mascara lifts my eyelashes without using a curler first. It adds enough volume without feeling clumpy. I was hugely disappointed with the Haute & Naughty and was about to give up on MAC mascaras for good when I tried this one on a whim. This is my favorite mascara. I've already repurchased - although I got the Extreme Black formulation this time. It is definitely a drier formula, which works great for me, but may not be everyone's preference.
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Brows -Revlon - Brow Fantasy
hansa4 12/25/2011 11:40:00 AM
I have used twist up pencils from Cover Girl and Tarte previously. I use mainly the gel from this duo, but the pencil does work well for me. I prefer the look I get from gel - I want to make my brows defined, but not overly so, for daytime. This is a great product, and the price is extremely reasonable. I'm usually not a huge fan of drugstore products, but I have already purchased a backup.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Volume Waterproof
hansa4 7/11/2011 11:08:00 PM
I've had this for a while and was kind of undecided on it, until this weekend. To make a very long story short, I have straight asian lashes, so I curled them applied 2 coats and this mascara lasted through a beach day, quick shower (my goal was to keep the mascara intact), sleep and work the next day. It is amazing. If you need a long lasting mascara, this is it.
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Treatments -Ren - Keep Young and Beautiful SH2C Serum
hansa4 4/19/2011 6:03:00 PM
I cannot provide a full review on this product as I returned it with only a week of use. I am not normally offended by the scent of products, but this serum smelled so fishy to me I could not bear it on my face any longer. I have an eye serum from REN that I really like, and that's what led me to try out this serum. I purchased this online, without checking it out in store. I am not sure if I would have noticed the scent in the store, because it's not something that I was able to detect straight out of the bottle, only as I was slathering it onto my face. I'm sure it's a lovely product - as I mentioned I am happy with other REN products that I have tried, however, if you are sensitive to scents I would recommend steering clear of this one.
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